


Lighthouses

by ChurroBird



Category: Discord Murder Party (Podcast), To The Moon (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I HC their character is a boy but thats just me?, I literally stole River's name, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Murder, im sorry but i really like to angst jojo's character, it's fluffy but then it goes to angst, tbh this is a headcanon backstory for JoJo's unawakened character, this is heavily inspired off To The Moon if you cant tell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-09 02:44:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17398511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChurroBird/pseuds/ChurroBird
Summary: He would visit the place every night. His little hidey hole, he liked to call it, up in the hills and next to the cliff. A lone bench was there, and he would sit there every night and watch the stars flicker.He meets her there- no... he met her before...Didn't he?





	Lighthouses

He was scared of everything that was happening.

From the tall adults looming around him, to the murderers lurking about a fair that should’ve been so fun, his only solace was the night. It was beautiful, with the stars above and everything quiet, everything calm.

He would visit the place every night. His little hidey hole, he liked to call it, up in the hills and next to the cliff. A lone bench was there, and he would sit there every night and watch the stars flicker.

The stars above were not unlike the one on the blonde lady’s sternum. She was the one who started everything- or, at least he believed. The adults never seemed to notice her despite her incessant comments, excluding the four who seemed to hate her.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was afraid of the lady. She wasn’t much taller than himself, but that didn’t matter with her other features. The way she cackled with glee when a body appeared each day, the way she whispered the time left to debate... it felt like nails stabbing into him.

He didn’t want this. He didn’t like this. He was only 10, for Pete’s sake! He just wanted to stay on the cliff, looking at the stars and ignoring how less and less people were slowly awaking each day to see the mockingly-cheerful colors of the fair.

And he was here, just like every other night. For some reason, there had been a bag of cookies sitting on the bench as he arrived. He assumed it was the person giving out little treats each night- the one who the blonde lady called “the Gardener.”

It did little to cheer him up, but he appreciated it. He was going to eat one, when a voice cut through the silence of the night.

“You’re sitting in my spot...”

It was her. The only other kid he had seen amidst this madness. He had tried to reach out before, to have some comfort in someone who was his age, but she was so shy. He had never even heard her voice clearly, since she disliked interrupting the adults as they condemned someone- helplessly trying to find the murderer.

“Uhm... can you move...?”

Oh. Right. He shook his head, scooting over on the bench to let the other kid sit down. He had zoned out a little, being so shocked. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke up.

“I’m sorry for being in your spot. I haven’t seen you come here before, so...”

“It’s okay! I just... saw you coming here and didn’t want to interrupt you...”

He paused, turning his head to give the girl a curious look. He was surprised, to be honest. “Really? Can I ask what made you... uh... come over finally?”

“I’m scared. Of what’s happening... I’m sorry for ignoring you. I know you need to talk to someone, and... I do too.”

I’m sorry for ignoring you. I’m sorry for ignoring you? Why does that sound so familiar?

Flickers of images tug at his mind, just barely a wisp of... a memory? Her. The one sitting in front of him. Her sitting beside him, just like now, comforting him, bandaging him up- what?

He snaps out of his thoughts, fumbling for his words. “Well, uh! It’s okay, really! I’m... I’m glad that you have the courage to talk to me... And... yeah... I need to talk too. With all these grown-ups running around, things could only get scarier if my dad was here.”

Dad...? Dad? He didn’t have a dad. Not one that he knows of. He relaxes the muscles that he didn’t know were even stiffened, ignoring the faint feeling of dread and fear in his bones- the instinct to run and hide.

She gives a soft smile, the kind that makes all his intrusive thoughts disappear, only leaving a somehow-nostalgic bliss. She then stares up at the stars.

“There’s Orion.”

“...What?”

She points to a small cluster of stars. “He’s right there, Orion the hunter. He’s a constellation.”

“Oh! I don’t know the constellations very well, sorry...”

Her small smile splits into a wide grin as she beams. “Do you want me to teach you?”

He nods enthusiastically, slowly leaning on the other child as she rambles on about the varying constellations in the sky, and even the ones that aren’t present.

She pauses, and he cranes his head up to see why she stopped. She takes a deep breath, then looks back at him.

“They’re lighthouses.”

He doesn’t respond, except for a confused noise that escapes from his throat. She repeats herself, this time with elaboration.

“They’re lighthouses. They show us the way to go, even as we’re like ships on the abandoned sea. Even through the clouds and the waves, we can spot them so far away.”

The nostalgic feeling comes back, and he slowly nods... The words repeat in his head.

_“I’ll show you the way, as well!”_

They both pause, not expecting to say that at the same time. A few beats of silence, then they burst into laughter.

Yes, she’s showing me- she _showed_ me the way! Out of the pain and the fear- out of everything. She saved me from dad’s anger, she saved me when things got too bad, where I had now where to go when the adults turned a blind eye to us “silly” kids. She tried to save me, even when dad found out about our secret meetings and I paid the price.

I paid the price. I paid the price?

I... I... Am I-

The fog swarmed in my head. Why am I hearing the blonde lady’s laughter? Why are those four adults here- what did they do? What are they saying?

He didn’t realize that he was crying until a soft hand wiped at his cheeks, and he slowly opened the eyes that he didn’t remember shutting that tightly.

“It’s okay... you’re okay. I’m here with you. I’m always going to be here with you, even when the world is no more. Even when the moon is all we see, and the stars fall down from the sky.”

She moved away, standing up. His voice died in his throat, silencing his want to beg her not to go- not again.

The fog swarmed in his mind. No, no. She couldn’t be gone. She was right here- why is the laughter getting louder?

It pounded in his head, and he could feel the seams of his mind falling apart. No. No. They can’t take her away again. Not his dad, not the blonde lady, not ANYONE. He promised her that she would be with him, even when everything and everyone else crumbled away.

He was standing. The blonde lady was in front of him again. The four adults were also there. The one with the brown jacket tried to speak up, but the lady cut him off. A turn? What did that mean? He couldn’t understand.

She stared down at him, before smirking wickedly, revealing small but sharp fangs. “So, kid, tell them, since they want to hear so bad. What is your name? What is the name of your childhood friend that you broke a promise to?”

He didn’t care about his name. He cared about her, he cared about his only friend in the whole wide world... and he screamed for her.

“PLEASE! GIVE HER BACK! I WANT TO SEE RIVER AGAIN!”

Tears poured down his face once more, and again they were wiped away. It was such a contrast to River’s comforting hands- the ones that were covered in ink seemed too cold, too scary.

More cackling from the blonde lady. Why? Why was this funny to her? He already gave his name to her once, why did she want it again?

He uttered it again, barely a whisper, and let the pieces of his mind fall to floor.


End file.
